Blue Bird Cafe, a cozy fixture in the Athens restaurant scene since 1975, was recently almost turned into a Subway.

When the new Hilton Garden Inn came in, the Blue Bird’s rent doubled, said manager Dave Mundy.

There were talks of letting Subway take over their corner on Pulaski and North Thomas Streets, but Mundy and others invested thousands of dollars into the tiny cafe for renovations and changes.

And so after being closed for a month this summer, the Blue Bird Cafe reopened – with hardwood floors and a bamboo bar.

Now not only do they serve breakfast, but also lunch and dinner, along with fine beers, wines and teas.

Although the cafe opened it doors for dinner and drinks in July, the Blue Bird has yet to fluff its own feathers when it comes to advertising.

“We’ve been shy on purpose,” Mundy said. “I like to have things right before I show them off.”

But the Blue Bird seems close to being ready to be shown off. With colorful murals on the walls, just a little over a dozen wooden tables and big bright windows, the Blue Bird is back as a charming Athens staple.

The extensive vegetarian menu includes their breakfast favorites such as German style crepes, fluffy omelets, crunchy granola with fruit, black beans with cilantro and tofu cooked in a variety of ways.

The lunch and dinner menu offers tabouli salads, brown rice, veggie melts, curried vegetables and quesadillas – and no entree costs more than $7.

The wide variety of teas caters to the tea connoisseur, and Mundy encourages patrons to be picky, or at least mindful of their tea options.

He also invited local musicians to come perform on certain weekend nights, offering a spot to any acoustic instrument, from the cello to the xylophone to the hand drums.

“We draw the line at drum sets,” he said. As a musician himself, Mundy often plays at the cafe.

And although he has his music and his own massage practice to keep him busy, he remains loyal to the Blue Bird, believing in the communal feeling and loving the people of Athens.

“My work ethic is about what I can give them,” he said.

As proof of his altruistic motives for sticking with the Blue Bird, he said, “I make so little money here. Almost everyone who works here makes more than me.”

Mundy remembered a difficult financial time for the Blue Bird 10 years ago when all the servers, chefs and everyone who worked at the cafe pulled their own pocket money together to buy groceries for the restaurant and then split the money that was made at the end of the day.

“That’s what Blue Bird has always been about – people who love it,” Mundy said. “The community has made sure this place has stayed alive.”